George Osborne denies 'turf war' over cuts

Chancellor George Osborne denied allegations today of a ''turf war'' between
the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions as the Government's
planned budget cuts came under fire from all sides.

George Osborne was forced to deny a rift within GovernmentPhoto: GETTY

4:04PM BST 13 Sep 2010

Mr Osborne was forced to answer an emergency question in the Commons after he revealed last week that he was to take another £4 billion from the welfare budget in his spending review, on top of £11 billion cuts made in June's budget.

He declined to discuss the figures in his short statement to MPs but said the welfare bill had risen by 45 per cent in the last 10 years and the system needed radical reform.

He was forced to make the statement following questions from backbench Liberal Democrat MPs, who added to mounting pressure over the Government's plans. Union leaders today threatened strikes against proposed reductions in public service funding while Labour accused the Coalition of manipulating the Parliamentary programme to force their controversial programme through.

Defending the budget, Mr Osborne: ''The current system is not protecting those who genuinely cannot work, nor is it helping those desperately looking for work to find a new job quickly,'' he said.

Liberal Democrat Bob Russell, who tabled the question, said: ''While I have no time for the welfare cheats, to try and blame this country's financial ills on that small category of the population I think is unethical.''